Shortest chain length?

Hi folks, I need some help here - I did some searching, but didn't find much on this topic.... although I'm sure I'm not the first with this situation.

I just built up a Kona Honzo and want to get the shortest effective chainstay length I can. i.e. I want the rear axle slammed as far forward in the sliders as possible.

I'm currently running 33x21 (yes, I'm weak), the rear axle is in about the middle of the sliders. The ratio of a 30x19 is close to the 33x21, with smaller chainring and cog I should be able to shorten the chain, although I'm not sure how much.

Will this get me what I'm looking for? Any downsides to changing the ring/cog - reduced chain/chainring/cog life?

That is a perfectly reasonable gear ratio for riding in the mountains. Anyway, I run 32 x 21 on my Honzo and the sliders are very close to all the way forward. Sounds like dropping a tooth up front would hurt your ego, but I thought I'd mention it anyway.

Thanks for the replies! No ego here, but I'd like to keep something close to the ratio I'm currently running, as I already spin out readily enough. These three ratio's are all very close:

33x21=11.93 feet per crank revolution
32x20=12.15
30x19=11.99

32x21=11.57
33x20=12.53

32x21 and 33x20 aren't far off either. I have a 20t cog, so I could give 33x20 a try without spending any money - just not sure how much shorter the chain could be by dropping a single tooth.

Dropping teeth on both chainring and cog should allow a shorter chain, I'm just not sure how much shorter. Going 32x20 saves me the cost of a cog. Going 30x19 would require purchasing both. Additionally, my understanding is that smaller rings/cogs increases wear on the ring/cog and chain - not sure how much though.